Star of the Sea

"Marlene come on you should stop worrying so much; I’m sure everything’s fine,” Sirius said to his girlfriend as he tried to drag her out of the kitchen and away from the window. She hadn't moved from their kitchen for the last hour and a half. Where she had been staring out the window with this look on her face that gave her away. She worried about their friends, he worried about them too, but it wasn’t like either of them could do anything. Sirius had made James make Peter the secret keeper because it was less obvious that way. They assumed that no one would think it was Peter. So Sirius didn’t even know where they were, and Sirius hated not knowing, but it was best this way.

Marlene finally turned away from the window to look at Sirius. “You don’t know that,” she said, biting her lip. “What if someone finds Peter, and he tells them so they don’t torture him? I mean I know that since he’s the secret keeper no one can get the secret from him unless he decides to give it up. But what if he does give it up so they won’t hurt him? Or worse, what if he’s been working for the other side this whole time? Then what?” She asked worried about the well-being of her friends. She tried to tell herself that she shouldn’t be so worried and that she sounded crazy. After all, Peter was one of the Marauders. He was one of James’ best friends, and there’s no way that he’d betray his friends like that right? There was no possible way that Peter would do something insane like working for The Dark Lord. Not when he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, not when all his friends so openly opposed him. Marlene couldn’t believe that the sweet boy she knew was capable of betraying the people he said he cared about. Believing the worst went against everything she felt like friendship stood for. But, there was gnawing at the back of her mind that wouldn’t let her stop worrying or thinking the worst.

“Okay, so I don’t know for sure that everything’s fine, but there’s no way for us to know. All we can do is hope that they’re okay. We have to trust Peter will do what either of us would do in his position; which isn’t giving our friends up to save our arses. I mean this is Peter we’re talking about, we’ve all known him since we were eleven years old. And the Peter that we know would never do that. He loves James, Lily, and Harry as much as we do. Now, will you please come here so we can finish studying? Or do you not want to pass the Auror exam next week?” He asked her slowly backing out of the kitchen towards the living room. Hoping she’d follow, and they could get some of her studies done.

“Fine, I’m sure you’re right. Studying will help distract me from worrying.” Marlene sighed before following Sirius into the living room to study.

--

“Marlene wake up,” Sirius said, letting out a yawn as he stood up from the couch to stretch. Her books were still open and everywhere. Apparently, she'd fallen asleep shortly after him. Or he was sure she would've cleaned them up, or at least woken him up so they could've moved to the bedroom or something.

Marlene rubbed her eyes. She must’ve fallen asleep in the middle of reading; which would explain the book resting open on her stomach. What she didn’t understand why Sirius was waking her up at this awful hour.

“Sirius go away.” She finally said trying to swat his hand away from her so he couldn’t poke at her anymore, that didn’t stop him, though.

“Come on; it's already late in the morning, and we promised our friends that we'd check on Peter today. This will help put your mind at ease too I hope." He said, kissing the top of her head before walking away to get dressed. He and Marlene had promised James and Lily that they would check up on Peter every once in a while. They would make sure he didn’t feel alone out there in the world and have the need to do anything reckless.

--

Nothing had ever made them more nervous than arriving at Peter's hiding place only to not find him there. That couldn't mean anything good. Especially since they discovered when they walked in that it was evident he hadn't been there in a few days.

"Sirius," Marlene started as she looked around the next room only to find an empty closet and bed.

"He wouldn't," Sirius said, shaking his head. Sirius was refusing to believe that one of his best friends would do what they both were afraid of right now. He couldn't accept that he'd convinced James that Peter was the best secret keeper only for Peter to rat them out.

"Maybe Peter is going out to find another hiding place and hasn't gotten around to telling us about it yet." He said before looking down at his hand when Marlene grabbed it and laced their fingers together.

Marlene gave Sirius’ hands a small squeeze and tried to will herself not to cry. “This can’t be happening,” she whimpered shaking her head. Marlene didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to let herself believe the worst but there was no way she could believe the best either.

“Sirius, his things are gone and we haven’t heard from him in days. He didn’t leave a note. And up and moving without telling someone isn’t a very Peter thing to do unless he’s hiding something.” She said trying to breathe, but it was hard with the new knowledge they had now.

They both knew the truth at that moment. Peter, a man they'd known since they were eleven years old and had trusted. A man James and Lily had trusted with their lives had betrayed them all. They came to the conclusion that Peter was working with The Dark Lord, and that it had been a grave mistake to trust him. Their friends and precious baby Harry were more than likely dead. They weren't grieving though, not yet anyway, because it didn't feel real, and they didn't know for sure. There was still a small sliver of hope in them both that they were wrong. Until they arrived at Godric’s Hollow and saw the destruction for themselves.

They’d taken the motorbike to Godric’s Hollow from Peter’s hideout, but, of course, they were too late. James and Lily were dead when they arrived. Given who killed them, they were dead within moments of him arriving. Of course, seeing all the destruction and death was a lot more real. And it was now impossible to deny the truth they'd wanted to so badly.

After a few moments of standing in silence as they looked around the living room, Marlene murmured “I’m going to go find Harry.” It was crazy that she was unable even to tell the room once been so full of life. “We shouldn’t stay long, in case muggles come snooping around,”

“I’ll come with you,” Sirius said, taking her hand in his own. He laced their fingers together again and gave her hand a small squeeze. It was hard for him to comprehend this. It took everything he had to hold himself together. Especially after they walked up the stairs and had to step over James’ dead body. At least he had Marlene and wasn't doing this alone. That didn't change the fact that this was going to end up haunting them both forever.

Stepping over James’ body he’d felt Marlene’s body tense up and he knew that she was on the edge again. Even though it felt like he'd only recently gotten her back. Sirius didn’t blame her though, she had lost her entire family three months prior. And now both James and Lily who were like siblings to her so he could only imagine the pain she was feeling. He felt agony in his own heart that he knew would be around for a while. He was going to hold onto hope that she’d be able to work through this with him.

Once they made it into the bedroom they saw her. Lily lying dead on the ground. From where her body was it would appear she had been trying to protect Harry who was likely in his crib. Marlene's eyes raced all over the room as she realized Harry wasn't in his crib. He was being cooed by Hagrid of all people. Her heart felt lighter knowing Harry, somehow, had survived.

"Been 'xpecting the twos a you," Hagrid said smiling over at them. Marlene felt like she should have known that Dumbledore would send someone but she hadn't. She would've bet good money right then and there that Hagrid was there to collect Harry. Which meant Dumbledore had a plan for Harry, but Marlene had a plan of her own that didn't involve Dumbledore. Her plan in no way suggested Harry getting sent away and sent to live with Lily's sister. Over Marlene’s dead body was she going to let anyone come into this house and take him away.

Marlene bit her lip to hold in her tears while she looked sadly around the room again. Then she put on her biggest smile asked Hagrid if she could hold Harry. Hagrid wasn't in a rush to get back to Dumbledore and figured it was the least he could do so he agreed. He explained to them how his instructions were to stay on the down low until nightfall.

“Shh, it’s okay, Harry. Auntie Marlene’s here now. And I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” She cooed to the baby boy in her arms before kissing his head. She didn’t know how he’d survived this awful attack and only came out with that scratch on his forehead. It made no sense because his parents had both ended up dead so why hadn't he? But nothing was making much sense anymore.

While Marlene held, Harry Hagrid was quick to start comforting Sirius. This wasn't how anyone wanted to find their best friend. And currently, Marlene had a baby in her arms who was one of the only things holding her together. Sirius didn't. So seeing the women he loved holding baby Harry under these circumstances was breaking his heart more.

“You can’t take him Hagrid,” Sirius said, looking to Harry and Marlene. “He deserves to be with people who love him,” he said.

Sirius and Marlene were not only Harry's Godparents but his guardians as well. They had both made a promise to James and Lily they planned on keeping.

"Dumbledore sent me ta get him, I'm jus followin me orders,” he said sighing. "I have to take him; you can say your goodbyes though if you wanna. I'll be waitin, over there" he said, motioning that he'd be waiting right by the door for them to finish up

Marlene walked over to Sirius and let Sirius hold him for a moment. “We can’t let Harry go; We’re supposed to take care of him. And he’s just a baby Sirius. He needs people who will love him and tell him all about James and Lily. Dumbledore's going to want him to stay with Lily’s sister or something; which is the worst thing he could do. She treated Lily like crap; she didn’t like James. And that husband of hers isn’t much better. If we let Harry end up there we’d be letting our friends down.” Marlene said as she kissed Harry's head, then looked back to Sirius. She was going to do something. There was no way in hell that Marlene was letting Harry slip through her fingers and end up with the Dursley’s.

“I mean it, Sirius, Dumbledore will have to kill me before I let him decide what happens to Harry. Why does he get to decide anyway? How did he even know to send Hagrid here in the first place? And if isn’t planning to send Harry off to live with his aunt then what’s his plan anyway? Raise Harry himself? I don’t think so,” she huffed glancing down at the baby boy sleeping in Sirius’ arms. Harry wasn’t going anywhere except for home with her and Sirius.

“Marlene I’ve got to take care of something. Why don’t you grab my bike and go with Hagrid and persuade Dumbledore like I know you will. Then I’ll meet you back at the flat later?” Sirius said, handing Harry back to her and smiling at both of them. He was hoping to himself that everything would work out.

“Sirius you can’t-” but he cut off her off by giving her a quick kiss.

She knew him a little bit too well. He hadn’t even told her what he was planning to do, but it was like she already knew.

“It’ll be okay; I promise I’ll see you both at the flat soon.” He told her cupping her cheek and kissing her forehead.

Marlene shook her head.

“No, you don’t expect me to let you run off to try and kill Peter, do you? I know that he betrayed Lily and James, you know that he betrayed Lily and James. But everyone else is going to think that you betrayed them. Because no one knew Peter was the secret keeper except you, me, Lily, and James. Which is why you need to come with me to see Dumbledore. We can both talk to him. Tell him the truth that we thought Peter was a smart choice. But apparently, everyone was wrong to trust him because he gave the secret up and now they're dead. Plus it doesn’t matter what Dumbledore wants anyway, he doesn’t have any actual claim to this baby. We do. James and Lily had us sign that paper making us Harry’s guardians if something happened to them. They trusted us, thus, we are the only ones who get to decide what happens to him unless we give up that right,”

“Marlene, you don’t expect me to let Peter get away with what he did do you? He got our friends killed! Harry’s going to grow up without his parents because Peter betrayed them!” He snapped. Though with every right. He was angry and feeling very overwhelmed with everything. Sirius needed to leave this house find Peter and then make him pay for what he had done. Their friends were dead because of him, so in Sirius’ eyes, he deserved to suffer.

Marlene let out a sigh; she knew that he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say, but it had to be. “Running off like an idiot, to try and get revenge without thinking things through, or taking all the consequences into consideration is exactly what I would expect if we were still in school. But we’re not. And if you walk out that door after Peter we both know I'll never see you again. And if I do, it won't be you walking into our flat tonight like everything is fine. It will be in court more than likely before they haul you off to Azkaban for the rest of your life. And then what? I'll raise Harry on my own and tell him all about his parents and Godfather? Who didn't know how to think things through because that sounds lovely.” She snapped back before she shook her head and had to look away from him so she could blink away her tears.

“Sirius, I am holding myself together right now because it's what's best for Harry. If I lose you too, I won't be able to hold myself together anymore. I've lost too many people that I cared about already. So come with me to talk to Dumbledore and together once we know Harry’s safe we can figure out what to do about Peter. Besides, you know him, by now I’m sure he knows that we both know what he did. And he’s more than likely expecting you to run after him in a rage that he’ll then use against you. That’s the thing about fighting people you’ve been friends with for most of your life. They know you and can use what they know about you against you.” She told him keeping Harry steady with one arm and using the other to reach out and grab his hand finally. “Please,” she begged.

It was already bad enough that she’d lost her family earlier in the year, but now she’s lost two of her best friends. It was possible she might lose Harry, and Marlene knew she sure as hell couldn't handle losing Sirius too. She would do whatever it took to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid right now. Even if that meant guilt tripping him into using his brain rather than his heart.

“Let’s see Dumbledore,” Sirius finally said after taking a few breaths to calm himself down. He wanted to get revenge on Peter, and he didn’t like one bit that they were letting the rat go free. Marlene had a point though, going after him now was a bad idea. He had to be expecting Sirius, and by now he’d had more than enough time to figure out some plan to escape. So Sirius needed to take a step back and figure out a plan, something that Peter wouldn’t see coming.

The last thing he wanted to do was cause Marlene more pain. Which doing something stupid that could get himself locked up or killed would push her over the edge. And after everything else she'd had to go through, and he couldn't do that to her. So, for now, he was going to worry about if Dumbledore would believe them when they told him what had happened.

--

Marlene wasn't sure how Dumbledore felt he had the right to decide where Harry went. Sure the man was powerful and yes, she'd trusted him, and she knew that Sirius trusted him. Hell everyone she knew, trusted him. That didn't change the fact, though, that right now he was trying to take Harry away from her, and she didn't like that.

Once it was dark out Marlene told Hagrid that she and Sirius would take Harry and meet him wherever he was meeting Dumbledore. And Hagrid, after a little convincing, agreed. Within no time they were all arriving at number 4 Privet Drive.

--

"Harry will be safe here, this is his family. You don’t know the repercussions of not following through with this plan." Dumbledore told them all since McGonagall also felt this wasn't the right place for him.

"You have no right, actually," Marlene said, getting all sorts of upset again and holding Harry closer to herself. “I don’t care what you want for Harry you’re not his father. And no disrespect Sir, but you never will be. James and Lily legally made Sirius and I the guardians in case something like this were to happen. Which I intend to follow through with. We came here to explain things to you hoping you would be understanding. And we’re not asking for permission. If you would like you can even return to our flat and see the paperwork for yourself. But there is no way in hell that Harry is going anywhere near that house with those awful people,”

McGonagall cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “That won’t be necessary Ms. Mckinnon,” she said.

“I can reassure you, Albus, that now that this is being brought up, I remember that day myself. The Potters had come to me with Marlene and Sirius and asked me to be a witness in the signing of guardianship. Millicent also suggested that they have someone who could judge their characters appropriately. To make sure Sirius and Marlene were fit to take on the responsibility. They’d also asked me since I have watched them grow into the adults they are now. Everyone in the room signed, stating that in the event of James and Lily Potter's death Marlene and Sirius would become Harry’s legal guardianship. Unless they decided to relinquish those rights. But I don’t see that happening. And even if this weren’t the case, she isn’t wrong Albus. Harry isn’t our child to do with how we please. He had parents who had wishes that we should respect. And I have no doubt that they will do well,”

"Also, I'm sure you're well aware that we're here because Lily and James are dead. That means that their secret was given out. But I'd like to make it very clear that Peter was secret keeper, not me. It was a last minute decision made. We thought we could trust him, but clearly, he's the mole. Peter betrayed our friends and now they're dead. And well, I'm sure he's going into hiding or something to protect himself. I also believe that he was the one who passed along all other vital information that got out. He's still out there, and something needs to be done about it. And if you don't believe me, I'll take a truth potion or whatever to prove it to you. I just think that Marlene and I deserve the chance to make this up to them for trusting the wrong person. And for realizing it too late,"

It was a bit harder than they’d expected to make Dumbledore see that Sirius wasn’t the one who’d betrayed James and Lily. And that Harry was going home with them, but they did it. Probably because Dumbledore did make Sirius take a truth potion. And he did follow them back to their flat to get a look at this legally binding document for himself; before he came to realize there was nothing he could do. While he’d tried to make good points on why Harry should be raised by his aunt and uncle in the Muggle world; Marlene and Sirius simply didn't believe him. They also had better points on why they as Harry legal guardians would be taking care of him.

Once everyone left and it was just the three of them Marlene let out a breath she’d been holding in. And she felt a small bit of stress leave her shoulders.

“Welcome home Harry,”